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Welcome to the Article and Photo Submissions Page!

Snapshot of the front page of The B.C. Catholic's Nov. 25, 1970 issue.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

We at The B.C. Catholic want to thank you for your interest and we want to help you in getting your message across to our readers. By following these simple guidelines, you can make it more likely readers will learn about the events and activities your organization is involved in, as your submission will have a greater chance of being published.

The B.C. Catholic is loyal to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church and submission must reflect that loyalty.

The B.C. Catholic publishes non-fiction and opinion articles generally ranging from 300 to 1,000 words on topics of interest to Catholics in British Columbia, Canada, and the world. News and feature stories as well as opinion pieces should be relevant to the faith. (We may accept longer articles on occasion.)

We don’t customarily publish fiction or poetry.

If you are submitting an article that has previously been printed elsewhere, you must advise us of the publication date and the name of the newspaper, website, blog, or other media platform that published it. If you are submitting an article that has been submitted elsewhere and is still awaiting publication, please advise us of this as well.

ARTICLE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

BE COLOURFUL AND BRIEF

Write-ups and photos of your events need not be long and detailed. Keep in mind most readers will want to know, "What was the most interesting thing about your event?" This should comprise your lede – the first sentence or two. A short, engaging lede is essential to good story writing. Examples can be found on the web.

Then relate the 5 W’s and other points of interest. News articles rarely work without quotes from the "newsmakers" involved in the story. If you add quotes with attribution, your write-up will have a greater chance of being selected for publishing. We do not usually publish write-ups that do not have quotes from the "newsmakers" and "keen observers" involved in the story.

Please remember to include the more colourful details. The fact that 14 people gathered for a luncheon is less interesting than the news that at the luncheon they presented a new chalice to the pastor. And remember to get a picture of the pastor and the chalice.

BE TIMELY

One way you can help us get your news in the paper is to keep it current. It's better to send us a couple of paragraphs and a photo this week than a two-page write-up and many photos several weeks from now. And if all you have is a photograph, send it in. Chances are it will grab just as many readers all by itself.

BE WITHIN REACH

Always include a name and phone number where The B.C. Catholic can get additional information, if necessary.

PLEASE REMEMBER

All articles must include a “byline,” or author’s name. We rarely publish anything without attribution. If you do not submit the article with a byline, it will not be published.

If you are submitting an opinion piece, you must add one or two sentences about yourself at the end of the article. E.g., John Smith is the communications director for the diocese of British Columbia; Jane Jones is a parishioner at St. Helen's church in Burnaby. If you do not, it will not be published.

If you are submitting a historical piece on a person, event, or other thing, please use your lede to tie it into something current. It will have a better chance at being published if you do. Also, quote an expert to help tie the article into the present.

PHOTO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The B.C. Catholic accepts photos from groups and individuals for publication. If you have an interesting or newsworthy photo or photos, please send them along to us.

PHOTO TIPS

To improve the chances we use your photos, please keep in mind a couple of things:

Don't be shy. A good rule of thumb is that you should get as close to your subject as physically possible, and then take a step even closer. That way, faces will show up clearly, and readers can see the pastor's delighted smile.

Close-ups are great. If you force yourself to get in close to your subject, it also makes it more difficult to take photos of long line-ups of people, and that's probably for the better. It is usually impossible to see much detail in a photo that contains a dozen people.

Please keep it simple and be creative. Rather than taking a picture of 10 people standing at the bake sale table, take a picture of your most senior (or junior) member, holding a slice of her famous 12-layer chocolate cake.

BE TIMELY

One way you can help us get your photos in the paper is to keep it current. It's better to send us a one photo right away, rather than a lot of photos several weeks from now.

BE WITHIN REACH

Always include a name and phone number where The B.C. Catholic can get additional information, if necessary.

PLEASE REMEMBER

All photos must include a photo credit – the name of the person who took the photo. We rarely publish anything without attribution. Also remember to include photo caption information, including names and titles of people in the photos.

SUBMIT PHOTOS

Photos can be emailed as attachments to bccatholic@rcav.org, shared via a web link, or submitted through our online form. The pictures should be the highest resolution possible (usually the largest). Originals are best. Please do not shrink the image size to send it by email as the picture likely won’t be printable. We do not accept hard-copy photos.